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Snakes in Suits

The unbelievable insanity of the State Department's 'spokespeople'

Daniel McAdams
Ron Paul Institute
Thu, 04 Feb 2016 13:47 UTC
john kirby
© sputniknews.com
Liar, Liar...
Anyone wondering why the rest of the world sees the US administration as insane -- or worse -- need only spend a few minutes watching a daily briefing from the White House or especially the US State Department. These are not endeavors by intelligent and rational representatives of the US government to help explain US policies to the press corps and thereby to the rest of the world, but rather mind-numbingly sophomoric and barely literate diatribes.

Who can forget the exchange between AP's top diplomatic reporter Matt Lee and State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf, where Mr. Lee questioned Harf on her assertion that US "evidence" for its claim that Russia was involved in the shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH-17 over Ukraine came from "social media." Pressing Harf for any evidence, he asked "is there anything other than social media" to back US claims? Yes, she said, but only offered that the US assessment was based on "common sense."

Then there was that hilarious moment when former State Department Spokesperson Jan Psaki answered accusations by the Venezuelan government that the US was trying to push a regime change on the country.

Comment: Further reading:
The methods of psychological terror (that specific pathocratic art), the techniques of pathological arrogance, and the striding roughshod into other people's souls initially have such traumatic effects that people are deprived of their capacity for purposeful reaction; I have already adduced the psychophysiological aspects of such states. Ten or twenty years later, analogous behavior can be recognized as well-known buffoonery and does not deprive the victim of his ability to think and react purposefully. His answers are usually well-thought-out strategies, issued from the position of a normal person's superiority and often laced with ridicule. Man can look suffering and even death in the eye with the required calm. A dangerous weapon falls out of ruler's hands.

We have to understand that this process of immunization is not merely a result of the above described increase in practical knowledge of the macro-social phenomenon. It is the effect of a many-layered, gradual process of growth in knowledge, familiarization with the phenomenon, creation of the appropriate reactive habits, and self-control, with an overall conception and moral principles being worked out in the meantime. After several years, the same stimuli which formerly caused chilly spiritual impotence or mental paralysis now provoke the desire to gargle with something strong so as to get rid of this filth.

Political Ponerology: A Science on The Nature of Evil adjusted for Political Purposes


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Chart Pie

Employer layoffs in U.S. surge to 6-month high for January

Tom DiChristopher
CNBC
Thu, 04 Feb 2016 08:11 UTC
Job losses
© Bidness Etc
Layoffs surged in January to the highest levels since July as employers in the retail and energy sectors pulled out the pink slips, according to a private survey out Thursday.

U.S.-based companies announced 75,114 planned job cuts last month, up more than 200 percent from a 15-year low in December, according to global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That figure was also 42 percent higher from a year ago.

Retailers were the biggest job cutter, despite a nearly 8 percent bump in U.S. holiday sales in 2015. The sector slashed 22,246 positions, a seven-year high.Wal-Mart accounted for much of the payroll reductions. The nation's largest retailer said it plans to close 269 stores and expects to let go 16,000 workers. Macy's said it will also shutter some locations this year, costing 4,820 employees their jobs.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas CEO John A.Challenger said the shift from in-store selling to online transactions is playing a major part in the scaling back of retail work forces. Macy's "had a 25 percent jump in their online sales, but their retail sales at bricks and mortars fell by 5 percent, so they are cutting stores," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Thursday.

January delivered a fresh round of energy sector layoffs, as well. Announced payroll reductions of 20,246 marked the highest monthly total since the start of the oil price rout in mid-2014 that has sent crude prices spiraling about 70 percent and led to massive cost-cutting in the U.S. oil patch."Halliburton, Baker Hughes, Schlumberger — all the big oil producers of equipment — are continuing to cut jobs. That suggests that the big ... oil and gas companies are cutting production and exploration," Challenger said.

Comment: See also:

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Quenelle - Golden

Assad is 'positively angelic' compared to Western leaders & their regional allies


Sputnik
Thu, 04 Feb 2016 12:40 UTC
Assad Syria
© AFP 2016/ HO/SANA
Syrian political scientist Bassam Abu Abdullah argues that it is the height of cynicism for Western leaders and the media to call Syrian President Bashar Assad a dictator, suggesting that they should take a good look at their allies in the neighborhood before making such accusations.

Interviewed by Latvian radio station Baltkom, Abdullah, a professor of political science at the University of Damascus, suggested that when Western commentators say that Assad is an 'undemocratic leader', they are deceiving their audience, because Western allies Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar aren't exactly shining examples of democracy.

"Briefly describing the conflict in Syria is not so simple; there are several layers, including the domestic and international. But I do not believe that democracy, freedom and human rights are the main object of this conflict, however the West might portray it," Abdullah said.

Comment: Further reading:
The degree to which the American corporate media will cover up for American foreign policy atrocities knows no bounds. The country's leading newspapers and broadcasters have supported every official lie from Lyndon Johnson's Gulf of Tonkin resolution in Vietnam to George W. Bush's claim of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. News reports concerning areas suffering from American interventions should be taken with a great deal of skepticism. In light of the past history of propaganda, the context of recent stories about the people of Madaya, Syria should be closely scrutinized.

U.S. starves Syria, media covers it up by blaming Assad


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Handcuffs

Mending fences: Bulgaria attempting to bolster relations with Russia


Sputnik
Thu, 04 Feb 2016 12:51 UTC
Bulgaria
© AFP 2016/ NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV
Bulgaria is reportedly attempting to benefit from a chill in Russian-Turkish ties by developing relations with Moscow.

The strained ties between Russia and Turkey have prompted Bulgaria to capitalize on the chill by notably starting to bolster relations with Moscow, media reports said.

Last week, Sofia hosted a meeting of the Bulgarian-Russian economic cooperation committee, the first such gathering that has taken since the 2014 collapse of the South Stream gas pipeline project, which aimed to deliver Russian gas to Europe via the Black Sea and the Balkans, bypassing Ukraine.

Comment: Further reading:
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Bulgaria's NATO membership does not worry Russia and that Russia seeks to develop closer relations with the country despite previous difficulties over the Austria-bound South Stream Pipeline.

Another 'message to Russia' - US deploys tanks and artillery to Bulgaria


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Jet5

'Dangerous precedent': Turkey denies Russian observation flight along Syrian border


RT
Wed, 03 Feb 2016 04:37 UTC
Antonov An-30 Wikipedia
© Wikipedia
Antonov An-30 Aircraft
Turkey has set "a dangerous precedent" by denying an observation flight over its territories bordering Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry said, vowing a "relevant reaction" to Ankara's violation of its obligations under the international Open Skies Treaty.

The Treaty on Open Skies which came into force in 2002 allows unarmed aerial observation flights over the territories of its 34 signatories, which includes Turkey. However the Russian An-30B plane was banned from conducting its surveillance flight over Turkish territory which was scheduled for February 1-5, without any prior warning.

"After the arrival of the Russian mission to Turkey and the announcement of the desired itinerary, the Turkish military officials refused to allow the inspection flight citing an order from the Turkish Foreign Ministry," the head of the ministry's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center, Sergey Ryzhkov, said in a statement.
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Heart

Putin: 'Not important how I'm called, only what I do for my country'


RT
Fri, 25 Sep 2015 04:32 UTC
President Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin
It is important what you do for your country, not the names you are being called, Russian President Vladimir Putin told CBS's '60 Minutes,' saying that the nickname 'tsar' does not fit him.

Charlie Rose sat down with Putin to discuss, among other issues, how the world views the Russian leader. CBS has published a preview of the interview.

Rose pointed out that some people have been referring to Putin as a 'tsar.' Putin responded that people call him various names, but added he believes the description "does not fit me."

"It's not important how I'm called, whether these are well-wishers, friends or political opponents. It's important what you think about you, what you must do for the interest of the country which has entrusted you with the position as the head of the Russian state."
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Safe

Protecting the anointed one? Feds fight disclosure of Hillary Clinton's 1999 Whitewater indictment drafts

Josh Gerstein
Politico
Wed, 03 Feb 2016 03:22 UTC
hillary clinton
The National Archives is fighting a lawsuit trying to force disclosure of several draft indictments of Hillary Clinton prepared by a Whitewater prosecutor in the 1990s.

In a brief filed late Tuesday, Justice Department lawyers and the Archives argue that disclosure of the draft indictments would lead to an unwarranted invasion of Clinton's privacy and violate a court rule protecting grand jury secrecy.

"Despite the role that Mrs. Clinton occupied as the First Lady during President Clinton's administration, Mrs. Clinton maintains a strong privacy interest in not having information about her from the files of the Independent Counsel disclosed," wrote Martha Wagner Murphy, chief of the Archives "special access" branch that stores records of former independent counsels. "As an uncharged person, Hillary Rodham Clinton retains a significant interest in her personal privacy despite any status as a public figure."

The conservative group Judicial Watch, which filed suit for the records in October under the Freedom of Information Act, is arguing that Clinton's ongoing bid for the presidency reinforces the public interest in records about her alleged misconduct.

"She's one of the most well-known women in the world, seeking the office of the presidency and her privacy interests outweigh the public interest in knowing what's in that indictment? It's absurd and it's shameful that the administration is proposing this," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in an interview. "This is a political decision to protect her candidacy—because it is laughable, legally."

Comment: Killary's got a lot more in her past to cover up than just a loan scandal. Nothing points to the charade of American politics more clearly than the fact that this criminal, who should have been jailed decades ago, is free and able to stand for any public office, let alone the presidency.

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Snakes in Suits

D'uh! MI5 recruits new Muslim converts to be 'informant' terrorist patsies


RT
Thu, 04 Feb 2016 02:46 UTC
isis
© Str. / Reuters
"I want to thank my family, God, and most of all, Western intelligence. I just wouldn't be here today if it weren't for them!"
British security services often target recent Muslim converts for recruitment as informants, according to a new study released by Cambridge University.

Researchers from the Centre of Islamic Studies spoke with 50 British men of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds who had converted to Islam. Some of the study's participants said MI5 agents had personally approached them and asked them to work for the agency.

One participant described the attempted recruitment as moving from "flattery" at the initial point of contact to "veiled intimidation" if converts rejected their first overtures.

Another convert interviewed by academics branded MI5's tactics "seedy." He said agents operate "from 'a bird's-eye view of society' rather than from 'a ground-level view' that took into account 'how people live.'"

Comment: This has been going on for years. MI5 is probably responsible for the vast majority of cases of so-called radicalization in the UK, just like the FBI in the U.S. For example: Meanwhile in France, more patsies and useful idiots have been arrested:
Lyon police have detained six suspected Islamist extremists who were trying to leave for Syria, French media report, citing police sources. Two of those arrested allegedly tried to obtain weapons to carry out attacks on swingers clubs. ... Some of the detained were already being monitored by authorities for their extremist views, and some were guilty of minor offences, but none of them terrorism-related crimes. One member of the group converted to Islam while serving a prison sentence, BFM reported.
And in the UK, more absurd terror threats: ISIS threatens London with 'doomsday' attack so terrible it will 'turn children's hair white'

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Camera

More NATO lies: "We have pics of Russia violating Turkish airspace, but we won't show them"

Ollie Richardson (translator)
RIA
Tue, 02 Feb 2016 02:40 UTC
Sukhoi Su-34 jet
© Flickr/ poter.simon
A NATO spokesman, who requested anonymity, claims that the Alliance has evidence that the Russian combat Su-34 aircraft violated the border of Turkey. According to him, this data is classified and cannot be presented to the public.

The images that supposedly prove the violation of Russian combat aircraft of the Syrian-Turkish border, are secret, said the representative of NATO, who wished to remain anonymous, to RIA Novosti on Monday.

"According to our information, Russian military aircraft violated the air border of Turkey on Friday. Images of the violation are classified", — said the agency's interlocutor.

Earlier, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said a Su-34 of the Russian Federation violated the airspace of Turkey on Friday at 11.46 (12.46 GMT). A similar statement was made by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. A representative of the Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, stated that there were no violations of its airspace by aircraft of the Russian air group in Syria, and the statements of the Turkish side are "unfounded propaganda." According to Konashenkov, the Russian air defenses in Syria, nor the Syrian radar control of the airspace detected any violations of the Syrian-Turkish border.

Also, according to Konashenkov, Ankara, despite numerous statements by Turkish representatives, provided no evidence of a violation by a Russian aircraft on the Syrian-Turkish border.

Comment: This is getting old. The idea that such pictures would need to be classified in the first place is ridiculous. The allegation is that a Russian Su-34 violated Turkish airspace. If NATO has images, they would show exactly that: a Russian Su-34 violating Turkish airspace. So where is the justification for keeping them classified? The notion is absurd. The rational conclusion: no pics, therefore it didn't happen.

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Camcorder

PR genius: Chechnya's Kadyrov releases video of Russian liberal taking money from NATO, gets huge media response

The Saker
The Saker
Thu, 04 Feb 2016 01:31 UTC
kasyanov

Bought and paid for.
I am convinced now that Kadyrov is a political and PR genius.

To trap the liberals in their own webs, he has posted on his Instagram account a video taken by a hidden camera of Kasyanov, an apparatchik from the so-called "PARNAS" party, in Strasbourg meeting with the official representatives from NATO countries to receive money to conduct anti-government operations in Russia.

As you can see it's just art - an expressive art. But liberals have no taste in art.

Kasyanov, a former Communist party apparatchik and a Yeltsin appointed Prime Minister in 2000-2004, earned the nickname "Misha 2 percent" because this was the bribe he demanded from every business transition in the country.

"Kasyanov was dismissed, along with the entire cabinet, by President Vladimir Putin on 24th February 2004 after more than three years in office." [Wikipedia]

Comment: After crying himself to sleep for being exposed as a treacherous troll, Kasyanov then did this:
The Chairman of the party Parnas, Mikhail Kasyanov, and Deputy Chairman of the party, Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr, filed a complaint to the FSB with a request to initiate a criminal case against the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, reports TASS with reference to the lawyer Vadim Prokhorov.

"The statement on initiation of legal proceedings was filed today in the FSB. We demand to bring a case against Kadyrov under three articles of the Criminal code: 277, 280 and 282, the anti-extremist articles of the code," said the lawyer.
Good luck! You're gonna need it...

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